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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 4 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 3

Ceisteanna–Questions. Priority Questions. - Tourism Industry.

David Stanton

Question:

1 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the impact the attack on the World Trade Center in New York has had on the tourism industry here; the steps he and the Government will take to support the tourism industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22643/01]

Brian O'Shea

Question:

2 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the special plans he has to assist the tourism sector; if an assessment of the likely implications for tourism numbers has been carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22314/01]

David Stanton

Question:

3 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the estimated total number of tourists who visited Ireland; the value of these visits to the economy in 2000; the number of tourists who originated in north America; the estimated amount spent by north American visitors here in 2000; his projections for 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22644/01]

I propose to take Questions

Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

In the year 2000, there were 6.3 million overseas visitors to Ireland who contributed an estimated £2.2 billion, 2.80 billion, in foreign revenue earnings, excluding Irish carrier receipts which amounted to £0.6 billion, 0.75 billion. There were 1.1 million visitors from north America who contributed almost £560 million, 710 million, or 25% of foreign revenue earnings.

No official estimates are as yet available in relation to the loss of tourism business from the United States and elsewhere arising from the tragic events of 11 September 2001. However, although it is accepted that it is still too early to assess the overall impact on international travel patterns, it is clear that the terrorist attacks in the US are likely to impact significantly on visitor numbers to Ireland, in particular from America, for the balance of this year and into 2002, leading to the first annual decline in visitor numbers for a decade.

The latest official CSO tourism and travel statistics, published on Friday, 28 September, indicate that earnings from overseas visitors to Ireland during the first half of 2001 showed an increase of 3.8% to £1.3 billion on the same period last year. Overall visitor numbers for the first half of 2001 were down 5.2% to 2.7 million on the same period last year, with the slowdown being most acute in the case of Great Britain and north America. Bord Fáilte now estimates that total overseas visitor numbers for 2001 are likely to show a further reduction on that figure following the terrorist attacks.

Bord Fáilte's original estimate for 2001 was for an increase of 5% in overall visitor numbers, although that estimate had been revised significantly downwards in the light of the anticipated adverse impact of the foot and mouth disease emergency earlier this year. Ironically, Irish tourism was beginning to show signs of recovery from this setback, mainly due to the early lifting of the major FMD restrictions in line with expert technical advice and subsequently, due to the beneficial impact of a targeted £10 million, 12.7 million international and domestic tourism marketing reassurance campaign by Bord Fáilte.

Since the tragic events of 11 September, both myself and officials of my Department have met senior management of both Bord Fáilte and Tourism Ireland Ltd., the new all island tourism marketing company, and with a high level delegation from the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, ITIC, to take stock of the situation and to put in place arrangements to ensure that marketing strategies will be developed to deal with the fall-out from the recent atrocity for the remainder of this year's season and for 2002. Critical factors will include not only the nature and duration of the response to the terrorists' attacks, but also the speed with which public confidence in air travel can be restored.

Given the changed environment, it is vitally important that there is a root and branch reassessment of our tourism marketing strategies, including how and where we focus our business, so that the substantial Exchequer funding already allocated for this area under the national development plan has maximum impact. The Exchequer budget for tourism this year will be close to £90 million, 114 million, the lion's share of which is allocated for tourism marketing activities.

Last Thursday, Bord Fáilte and Tourism Ireland Ltd. confirmed that they were urgently re-examining, in consultation with the tourism industry and through the tourism marketing partnership structure, their respective marketing programmes and plans for the remainder of 2001 and for 2002. Bord Fáilte announced late last week a £750,000, 950,000, programme of additional immediate measures for the British and Irish markets. Meanwhile, the new chief executive of Tourism Ireland Ltd. is already spearheading the review of marketing plans for 2002 with the intention of making a major announcement early next month in conjunction with the launch of a new advertising campaign for the island of Ireland. These moves have been welcomed by ITIC and I am grateful for their measured response to date to the current situation.

The Government is also very conscious of the important link between competitive air access and future tourism flows and has been working closely with the Irish aviation sector to help resolve recent difficulties and to help preserve the greatest number of international gateways.

Given the changed circumstances, I also believe it is vitally important to quickly bed down the process of institutional change now under way in the tourism State agencies which have remained unchanged in structure since the early 1960s. It will be critical to complete an orderly hand over of responsibility to Tourism Ireland Ltd. in time for the 2002 marketing season.

My Department has been keeping in close consultation with the Department of Public Enterprise in recent days and I particularly welcome today's announcement by Aer Rianta to extend its discount scheme for new routes to Dublin Airport. Under this scheme there will be no charges for new routes for three years. I also welcome the very attractive discount return fare of $198 introduced by Aer Lingus for its services from New York and Boston to Ireland up to mid-December.

Is the Minister aware that his colleague, the Minister for Public Enterprise, announced in the Dáil today that Aer Lingus's bookings since 11 September are down 80% on last year?

What does the Minister mean when he speaks about refocusing business? Has the Government decided no longer to concentrate on the United States market? What plans are there to intensify marketing in the United States and what arrangements are being put in place for these plans?

We are all aware that Aer Lingus had a problem long before 11 September and major restructuring had been planned within the company. The foot and mouth disease problem also affected the airline.

The position of Aer Lingus must be reassessed. The airline has been reassessing its position as have many European airlines. We are refocusing but we have no intention of pulling out of the United States.

If one can use the word "fortunate" with regard to such a dreadful atrocity, it was fortunate that it occurred at this time of year. The destination marketing budget was spent in the early part of the year. The money which will be spent by Bord Fáilte in the United States will be spent on promotion of niche areas. We will continue to do that type of marketing.

This morning Deputy Noonan referred to Tourism Ireland Ltd., TIL, and said the company had been set up without employees. TIL was set up with a view to the 2002 marketing campaign. It has a chairman, a chief executive and a board which has met on a number of occasions and has been working hard for the past year. There has been no hiatus in the setting up of TIL. I am waiting for the transfer of the employees from Bord Fáilte to the new company. The same people are carrying on the same work as we speak. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with trade unions and I will encourage them to do everything possible to ensure there is a smooth transfer of 103 staff to the new company. They have a part to play in this national challenge. There have been a few problems, but they have been ironed out. I am confident about my meeting tomorrow as trade unions have been helpful during past national challenges. This involves a loss of jobs in Aer Lingus and in the tourism industry. It is not that TIL has been set up without employees as there will be a changeover of staff to the new company.

My colleague, Deputy Moynihan-Cronin, has asked me to apologise on her behalf as she cannot attend today. In the circumstances, I am confident the Minister will understand. In the situation faced by Irish tourism at the moment, it is a shame that we lost the 2004 world cycling championships which was to be held in Killarney, because £2.7 million sought by the organisers was not provided by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation. The event would have brought £25 million into County Kerry, especially around Killarney, a town which has suf fered from foot and mouth disease and from the terrible recent atrocities in the United States.

Killarney also suffered last year from a train strike which happened during high season. Does the Minister not agree that it is unacceptable to allow such an event to slip though our fingers?

Given that tourists are less inclined to fly at the moment and that airlines throughout the world are decreasing their levels of activity, what special emphasis is being placed on alternative methods of access into Ireland, such as by sea? An alternative to enable the arrival of significant numbers of people, who may not otherwise come here, is needed.

I emphatically reject the idea that the world cycling championships would have brought £25 million to County Kerry. I am glad the Deputy has given me the opportunity to explain, given that people have called for my resignation. Initially, my Department offered £750,000 for the world cycling championships, a bid that was increased to £1 million. I had reservations in the first instance with the sport of cycling, given its attitude to doping. The fact that foot and mouth disease had damaged tourism and that Killarney is the capital and heart of tourism meant that I was willing to bid for the event and give cycling a chance.

We offered £1 million to the UCI to be allowed run the championships, but that organisation looked for £2.7 million. Deputy Allen brought the Tour de France here in 1998 for £2 million. My Department spends more than £1 million to sponsor five golf competitions each year, which provide 20 days of television coverage. The Ryder Cup, which will be the world's greatest sporting event in 2006, cost £3.7 million. Television coverage for the Ryder Cup will last six days. I offered £1 million to the UCI for the world cycling championships, but it did not represent value for money, basically. I felt there were many other things that could be done with £1 million and that expenditure of £2.7 million would not be prudent, especially in comparison to the Tour de France and the Ryder Cup. We sponsor five major golf tournaments each year, which cost a total of £1 million and which bring 20 days of television coverage. The world cycling championships would have brought two days coverage at the most. My Department's offer of £1 million was generous and I am surprised that the UCI did not accept it.

Deputy O'Shea also asked about access. The Government has always been interested in enhancing access into Ireland on the sea and in the air. I was delighted my colleague, the Minister for Public Enterprise, brought forward proposals today to encourage air access and I hope that we will bring forward more proposals. A Government sub-committee, consisting of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Enterprise and I has been set up to deal with the specific economic problems that may impact on tourism. I hope further proposals and incentives will be produced to improve air and sea access. A number of proposals from each of the Departments involved are well worth looking at.

Does the Minister agree he should have brought forward proposals long before now? His delay begs the question of why we must wait for a crisis to bring forward such proposals. When the Minister says we must refocus, does he mean he will not allocate any more money for marketing? Is the Minister in a position to say whether more funds can be set aside for marketing? Does he plan to move the money available to focus on different areas? Have any tourism agencies or bodies requested extra funds for marketing? If so, how much has been requested and who requested it?

There has been a request from ITIC, the tourism confederation.

Has the Irish Hotels Federation made a request?

Have any other requests been made?

The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation represents the entire tourism industry. Nobody has requested funding except people on television who recommended that we throw £5 million at the problem, to be dumped in the United States. A sum of £40 million is being lost each day by television networks in the United States as corporations there do not want to advertise at this time. Americans are not listening and are not travelling; as we all understand, they have much more on their minds. There has not been a major cry for money to be thrown into the American market.

In fairness to TIL and to Bord Fáilte, I was to launch a marketing campaign for 2002 on behalf of TIL in Dublin and Belfast during the first two weeks of November. The launch is to go ahead in the first week of November. Following the events of 11 September, groups have refocused to argue that marketing should be aimed at Europe and the United Kingdom. There has been a reassessment of the strategy that had been planned. The launch will go ahead in November following a reassessment. It is likely that greater emphasis will be placed on Europe in the immediate future.

We do not intend to abandon the US market, but we will concentrate on niche areas like incentives, conferences and golf. The American Express international golf tournament was to be held in the United States in September, but was cancelled following the tragedy. American Express donated the $5 million prize to the disaster fund. Thanks to Bord Fáilte, the competition will be held here next year, which means that Tiger Woods, Darren Clarke and Padraig

Harrington will compete here. The Seve Ballesteros tournament will also be held here, so it can be seen that many major events are planned. The marketing campaign will continue. We are not abandoning the United States. I wish to make one other response to Deputy Stanton's comments.

Very briefly, as we have to move on to the next question.

Two major events have affected the United States in the past 15 years, the Lockerbie disaster and the Gulf War. There was a 20% drop in tourist numbers from the United States following Lockerbie and it took two years to overcome the crisis. Similarly, it took two years to recover from the Gulf War. I hope that the two-year period can be minimised as a result of the ideas we have in place within the United States, the marketing that has been done before now and the establishment of TIL. I certainly hope we can minimise the percentage loss in the United States. With the marketing we have carried out up to now I hope we can minimise that period and the percentage loss.

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